CD Reviews

Articles and Interviews

Jo Dee Messina: the hardest working girl in country burns on
(Sep 2000)
Jo Dee Messina stuck to her guns when advised to declare bankruptcy a few years ago. One of the hardest working, most energetic singers on the country scene would hear none of it. And the result was the massive success of "I'm Alright," her second disc, where three straight songs - "Bye, Bye," "I'm Alright" and "Stand Beside Me" - went to number one, the first time the feat was ever accomplished by a woman on Billboard's charts. But that disc was released a good 2-1/2 years ago, and Messina sensed it was time to not necessarily stick to what got her where she is.... more

Messina gets off to bang on second go round
(May 1998)
Jo Dee Messina released her first single, the breezy uptempo road song "Heads Carolina, Tails California," early in 1996. That song and its follow-up, "You're Not in Kansas Anymore," both reached the Top Ten on the country charts, but then after those initial successes, her next two singles bombed at radio. Instead of quickly releasing a new album to regain her lost momentum, the Massachusetts native seemed to disappear from the country scene for quite awhile.... more

Heads or tails, Messina's career takes off thanks to hit single
(May 1996)
Timing is everything. If you don't believe that old saying is true, ask Jo Dee Messina. At Fan Fair a few years ago, the scarlet-tressed singer introduced herself to a Curb Records executive and told him "What you guys really need over there is a redhead." "Some people think it took a lot of courage to walk up and say something like that to a very powerful man," Messina said in a recent telephone interview, "but it was more like nerves. When I'm around powerful people, I tend to talk too much and joke around a lot."... more